Thin Ice (53 page)

Emily laughed in pure delight, then kissed him soundly. “How would you feel about being a Red Wing?"

Eric grinned down at her, al traces of his former tension gone. “For you, I'd let them have me for free."

Eric knew something was up the minute he rounded the last bend in the driveway and saw the huge sign in the middle of the front lawn proclaiming Lordy, Lordy, Daddy's Forty. His birthday wasn't until tomorrow, but he'd learned over the years that Emily loved surprises, and he'd never met a family better at keeping them secret.

One year he'd come home to a dark house ful of Jordans wearing hockey jerseys shouting, “He scores!” when he flipped on the light.

Another, he'd looked up from the ice in Vancouver to see, “Happy Birthday, Dad, Give ‘em Hel” blinking at him from the score-recap board.

Then there was the time she'd rented the Turnersvile bowling aley and with Suzanna-the-mayor's help, secretly invited half the town to and with Suzanna-the-mayor's help, secretly invited half the town to the “Eric ‘Can't Bowl Worth Beans’ Cameron Open.” Last year, she'd kidnapped him from the camp and whisked him away for a thoroughly wicked ‘ski weekend’ at Lake Placid. They'd never made it to the slopes.

He entered the house silently. For once he'd get the drop on the two-year-old twins who usualy tackled his knees the minute he got home. He cocked an ear to try to figure out his youngest daughters’

whereabouts, and heard instead the strains of classical guitar music filtering out from the great room, the muted clank of pots and pans in the kitchen. He caught the aroma of basil and oregano and smiled. Ravioli. The family favorite.

But where was the family? He removed his shoes and padded toward the kitchen, then paused in the archway to savor the sight of Emily, humming to Gabrieli as she prepared a tray of garlic bread, popped it in the oven and set the timer. Almost ten years of marriage hadn't diminished his desire for her a bit. Al he had to do was look at her and he wanted to drag her off to the nearest flat surface.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done with a savvy teenager, an inquisitive eight-year-old, a precocious six-year-old and two rambunctious toddlers underfoot most of the time.

Her hair was loose and fluffy, and she wore a soft, sexy pair of green silk lounging pajamas that, along with the growing suspicion they were alone, reminded him of Lake Placid. He grinned, thriled they were alone, reminded him of Lake Placid. He grinned, thriled at the prospect of a night at home alone with his wife. He watched her reach into the refrigerator and pul out a bottle of champagne, and decided this was one surprise he would enjoy thoroughly.

“Hey."

She looked up in surprise, her green eyes immediately softening with the love he never failed to see in them whenever they came together after having been apart, whether it was for a few hours or a few days. Even though he'd been coming home at six-thirty for almost five years now, she stil met him with the same ‘welcome home’ smile he'd come to cherish during his Red Wings days.

"Hey, yourself. I didn't hear you come in."

"I came in the front door. I was trying to get the drop on the twins for a change. Where is everyone?"

She slipped into his arms and gave him a kiss that raised his temperature several degrees, along with another part of his anatomy. “Robbie's on his way to the game in Detroit with his cousins, Bily's on a sleepover, Alicia's at Suzanna's making party favors, and I suspect Patty and Trina are up to their ears in ice cream at Gramma and Grandpa's right about now."

"Then what's the story with the sign?"

"That's for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

She smiled. “Patience, my love. You wouldn't want to disappoint your children, would you?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “I wil tel you this much. We've decided to go with a “Recapture Your Youth” theme this year, so be prepared."

"What's your part in the plan?"

"To make sure you get a good night's sleep, of course."

He laughed, then kissed her again, long and deep and slow. They forgot about dinner and birthdays and children until the stovetop buzzer went off beside them. She puled back, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed, then removed the garlic toast from the oven, while Eric poured the wine and rummaged in the overhead cabinet for matches to light the candles she'd set out.

Over dinner they linked their fingers and shared their day, a simple pleasure usualy reserved for the quiet moments they spent in each other's arms at night. Emily worked six hours on weekdays in the Turnersvile hospital ER, leaving the twins—the little surprises, as she and Eric caled them privately—in the hospital's employee day care center, run by the firm but loving hand of Catrina Melrose.

Emily's schedule supposedly gave her time to beat Bily and Alicia's school bus home, but as yet she hadn't quite mastered the art of punctuality. She teasingly blamed it on the twins when she could, but everyone knew Mom was hopeless at being on time. Robbie had told them so.

had told them so.

Robbie, who according to his younger siblings knew everything, was a senior at Turnersvile High, captain of their hockey team, and headed for Michigan State to study computer software design and play more hockey. Three afternoons a week, he helped Eric at the junior hockey school he'd built just outside of town upon retiring from the NHL.

They cleared the table, then settled on the family room sectional sofa. Champagne glasses in hand, they turned on the Red Wings game Robbie was attending with his cousins. Much to Eric's delight, Emily had become a huge fan of the sport he loved almost as much as he loved his wife.

His arm on the sofa behind her, he studied her profile as she sipped her champagne and watched the wide-screen TV. To this day he had no idea what he'd done to deserve her.

With Emily's ful support, he'd played three more seasons, seasons he'd enjoyed the hel out of and seasons he was convinced were his best. And not because the Red Wings had won any championship titles, although a couple of times they'd come mighty close. His enjoyment had come from the fact that whenever he'd looked up from the ice in the Joe Louis Arena he'd seen Emily smiling at him from the stands, surrounded by so many relatives his teammates had nicknamed him “Papa Bear."

He closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and savored the quiet joy He closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and savored the quiet joy that flowed through him every time he thought of his extended family. He'd never met a more open and friendly bunch, and he'd felt blessed beyond measure by their easy acceptance of him, their wilingness to love him simply because Emily did.

They'd watched over her for him when he'd been on the road, been there to welcome him home when he returned. Martin had found him the land for his camp, and Suzanna had talked him into opening a sixth Amelia's in Turnersvile, instead of Detroit.

Finaly, Eric had the home and family he'd always wanted. And he owed it al to his wife, who took special pride in making sure he knew how much she and the rest of his family loved him.

Feeling a strong need to return that love the best way he knew, he reached for the remote and clicked off the game. Emily looked over at him in surprise, then grinned in delight as she recognized the look in his eyes.

"Hubba hubba. Got something besides hockey on your mind, cowboy?"

He offered a slow smile, then just as slowly removed the champagne glass from her hand, before easing her back against the soft, wide leather cushions. “Any objections, Doctor Cameron?"

She linked her hands behind his neck, and puled him down to her for a kiss that made him feel twenty again.

"Not a one."

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine